The flu is making the round again and people, including myself, start feeling the first symptoms of upcoming colds: headache, slight sore throat, stuffed nose and ears. To prevent a flu outbreak in advance we started summing up what home remedies we know.
So far we’ve got:
- get as much Vitamin C as possible, fruits, oranges, lemons or those fizzy Vitamin C tablets.
- increase body temperature with tea or hot baths
- herbal baths or inhalations to free nose and throat
- Aspirin seems to simulate fever and taken in early stages it apparently helps preventing colds
- use a scarf, even indoors
- last year I actually achieved noteworthy results with Mojitos
Some good old grandma treatments:
- “Essigpatschen”: cold vinegar soaked socks or towels wrapped around your feet to decrease fever
- “Topfenwickel”: wrap cottage cheese in a dishtowel and put it on your neck until the cheese gets dry, helps against a sore throat
Is there any other home remedy you’re aware of or had good experiences with?
As I discovered last night, Mojitos perfectly help against upcoming colds.
I felt a bit sick yesterday, my throat hurt, the nose was stuffy and running all day, something malicious was coming up inside me.
Because a swiss friend of mine was in town we decided to meet for a drink or two. Usually I avoid taking pills as long as possible, simply don’t like them. So even if I felt a bit bad, having a drink was no problem for me.
Surprisingly, when I woke up today, all symptoms were gone.
Since I only drank Mojitos last night (watched Miami Vice the day before and I felt like having a Mojito), it’s very likely that the spirit of the Mojito helped me and pushed the cold out of my body.
Actually, looking at the Mojito ingredients, the case becomes clearer:
- the Rum must have killed all bacteria and viruses in my throat (cf. alcohol as disinfectant),
- the limes brought me a vitamin C overdose and
- Peppermint is among other things a traditional household remedy against colds.
So from now on, whenever I think I’m coming down with a cold, I’ll go the next cocktail bar and order Mojitos until I feel better. More fun than staying at home in bed and healthier than taking pills.